SMITH REMAINS AT NUMBER 1 BUT KOHLI BECOMES 2ND INDIAN BATSMAN TO REACH THE 900-POINT MARK

ICC Cricketer of the Year 2017 Virat Kohli has become only the second India batsman after Sunil Gavaskar to reach the 900-point mark in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, which were released on Thursday morning following the conclusion of the Centurion Test.

Gavaskar, an ICC Cricket Hall of Famer, had achieved the milestone after his 50th Test when he scored 13 and 221 at The Oval in 1979 to jump from 887 points to 916 points, which remained his career-best. Kohli, who recorded his 21st century at Centurion, achieved the rare feat in his 65th Test after vaulting from 880 points to 900 points.

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are the other two India batsmen who came close to the 900-point mark, but were unable to break the barrier. Tendulkar peaked at 898 points in 2002, while Dravid achieved 892 points in 2005.

Kohli is only the 31st batsman in the history of Test cricket to reach 900 points. Don Bradman sits on top of the table with 961 points, followed by Steve Smith (947), Len Hutton (945), Ricky Ponting and Jack Hobbs (both 942 points).

In doing so, Kohli has also leapfrogged Joe Root of England into second position as the top four positions continue to be occupied by Test captains who have all played in past ICC U19 Cricket World Cups. Kohli trails Smith by 47 points but now leads Root by 19 points, who, in turn, leads Kane Williamson by 26 points.

Other batsmen inside the top 20 to head in the right direction are South Africa’s trio of Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and Dean Elgar, while batsmen to head in the opposite direction include Cheteshwar Pujara, Lokesh Rahul and Quinton de Kock.

Amla, who scored 82 in the first innings, has moved up two places to eighth, while du Plessis has been rewarded for his contributions of 63 and 48 with a rise of two places that has given him a career-high ranking of 12th. Elgar has also gained two places and is now ranked 14th following scores of 31 and 61.

In contrast, Pujara has slipped one place to sixth, Rahul has fallen six places to 18th and de Kock is 20thafter plummeting five places.

Outside the top 20, South Africa opener Aiden Markram has made an impressive gain after lifting 10 places to share 38th position with Roston Chase of the Windies. In the last three Tests, Markram, who captained South Africa to the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup title in the UAE in 2014, has earned 20 places.

In the bowlers’ table, Kagiso Rabada’s reign as the number-one ranked Test bowler has lasted just one Test as he has slipped behind James Anderson following an ordinary performance by his high standards. Rabada had figures of one for 74 and three for 47, which were not enough to keep him ahead of Anderson as he has dropped 16 points to now trail Anderson by 15 points.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Vernon Philander were the other bowlers inside the top 10 to slip, going down one position each. Ashwin is now fifth, while Philander is seventh.

However, India fast bowler Mohammed Shami has achieved a career-high ranking of 17th after taking five wickets in the match.

South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi has made an impressive entry in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after debuting in 61st position. Ngidi took one for 51 and six for 39 to help South Africa to a 135 runs victory, which has given them an impregnable 2-0 lead in the three-Test series.

There is no change in the top five all-rounders and Shakib Al Hasan continues to lead the field by a distance. Ravindra Jadeja is second, followed by Ashwin, Ben Stokes and Philander.

MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings (as on 18 January, following the Centurion Test)

BATSMEN (top 20)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating

1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 947! 63.75 947 v Eng at Sydney 2018

2 (+1) Virat Kohli Ind 900! 53.51 900 v SA at Centurion 2018

3 (-1) Joe Root Eng 881 53.28 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

4 ( - ) Kane Williamson NZ 855 50.62 893 v Aus at Perth 2015

5 (+1) David Warner Aus 827 48.77 880 v NZ at Perth 2015

6 (-1) C Pujara Ind 814 51.09 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017

7 ( - ) Azhar Ali Pak 755 46.62 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016

8 (+2) Hashim Amla SA 745 49.00 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

9 (-1) D. Chandimal SL 743! 43.94 743 v Ind at Delhi 2017

10 (-1) Alastair Cook Eng 742 46.35 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012

11 ( - ) Ross Taylor NZ 739 48.04 871 v Win at Hamilton 2013

12 (+2) Faf du Plessis SA 734! 46.33 734 v Ind at Centurion 2018

13 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 732 50.46 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014

14 (+2) Dean Elgar SA 711 41.35 740 v NZ at Dunedin 2017

15 (+2) Jonny Bairstow Eng 692 39.12 772 v SA at Old Trafford 2017

16 (+2) Kraigg Brathwaite Win 690 37.43 701 v Eng at Headingley 2017

17 (+2) Usman Khawaja Aus 685 45.80 747 v Pak at Sydney 2017

18 (-6) Lokesh Rahul Ind 683* 42.41 761 v SL at Pallekele 2017

19 (+1) Shaun Marsh Aus 660! 40.87 660 v Eng at Sydney 2018

20 (-5) Quinton de Kock SA 659 41.02 802 v NZ at Hamilton 2017

BOWLERS (top 20)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating

1 (+1) James Anderson Eng 887 27.40 896 v Win at Lord's 2017

2 (-1) Kagiso Rabada SA 872 22.25 888 v Ind at Cape Town 2018

3 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 853 23.73 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017

4 (+1) Josh Hazlewood Aus 814 25.77 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017

5 (-1) R. Ashwin Ind 811 25.56 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016

6 (+1) Rangana Herath SL 799 28.04 867 v Zim at Harare 2016

7 (-1) Vernon Philander SA 787 21.95 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013

8 ( - ) Neil Wagner NZ 784 27.87 785 v Win at Wellington 2017

9= ( - ) Nathan Lyon Aus 769 31.64 774 v Eng at Adelaide 2017

( - ) Mitchell Starc Aus 769 27.73 805 v Pak at Brisbane 2016

11 ( - ) Morne Morkel SA 764 28.24 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

12 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 730 22.32 909 v Win at Centurion 2014

13 ( - ) Trent Boult NZ 725 28.56 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015

14 ( - ) Yasir Shah Pak 704 29.44 878 v Eng at Lord's 2016

15 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 683 29.33 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016

16 ( - ) Tim Southee NZ 682 31.45 799 v Win at Jamaica 2014

17 (+2) M. Shami Ind 672! 29.86 672 v SA at Centurion 2018

18 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 668 32.35 705 v Aus at Mirpur 2017

19 (-2) Keshav Maharaj SA 640* 26.78 695 v Zim at Port Elizabeth 2017

20 ( - ) Kemar Roach Win 612 29.42 774 v SA at Centurion 2014

ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Highest Rating

1 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 438 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017

2 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 399 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017

3 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 375 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016

4 ( - ) Ben Stokes Eng 358 /* 396 v Win at Lord's 2017

5 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 316 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014

*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.